Forever and Always

Chapter 71 - A Family Reunion

Sitting in the car, I could see right before my eyes as Levi slipped into the apathy once more. I watched as he began slowly slumping further into the driver's seat, his eyes drifting less frequently towards me until eventually they stayed put, glued to the road ahead of him. Curiosity finally seemed to get the better of me and I started talking.

"What's the matter, babe?" I asked, reaching across the center console and squeezing his bicep, but he flinched at the contact. I retracted my hand and looked into his eyes, watching his brow furrow while he set his jaw, drawing his lips into a frown.

"Nothing," he finally said after a long while.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at his troubled profile.

"Lemme rephrase that for you; nothing I'm allowed to tell you."

"Jeez, what happened?" I pushed, watching his lip tremble while he tried to hold onto his composure.

"I love you, Eren," Levi said after another long pause. "And I appreciate you being here, but there are some things you're better off not knowing," he murmured, looking at me with a haunting gaze, like he wished that even he hadn't had to know about what had happened that had troubled him so.

"You can talk to me about anything, you know," I said quietly. "I'm tough."

Levi let out a resigned exhale while the last of the orange sky bled out before our eyes. "Suffice it to say that having Dominic and Rivaille around is wonderful, and you should feel nothing but safe in their presence, but having them around is bringing back a lot of old memories I had buried away a long time ago." We pulled into the apartment garage and he cut the engine, his body both rigid and defeated at once, like he had settled prematurely into rigor mortis.

"I'm sorry that you're going through that, Levi. I'm here, you know. I'm happy to be here in any way that I can," I assured my fiancee, feeling heavy weights on my heart as sympathy began to sink into my skin, like topically applied medicine.

"No worries," he said. "I'm happy to see em, but this shit happens every time." His eyes had glazed over while he led me to the elevator, hitting the button and waiting in tense silence while we climbed to the level he lived on. "Beware, they're like me. Especially Riva."

"I'm sure that isn't a bad thing," I smiled while he unlocked the apartment, pausing before he admitted us entry.

"Rivaille is very excited to meet you, they both are, but they may act all kinds of aloof tonight while they feel you out a little bit. I promise they'll warm up."

"Really, it's fine," I said softly before he pushed the door open, letting me inside ahead of him while he closed and locked the door behind us. After walking from the brief hallway out to the living room, I immediately noticed the two formidable looking men lounging on the sofa. I saw a one of the men glance at me from the side of his eye, looking at me like a bored cat looks at somebody when they enter a room. He was wearing a thick, expensive looking coat, a long sleeved turtleneck, and tight black jeans and a pair of very Levi-esque Doc Martens. He looked like a runway model, the way his clothes perfectly draped across his body.

"I'm Rivaille," the man said letting the ice sink into his words, standing and turning towards me, his brother standing and doing the same. Once I had a clear view of his face, I had to do a double take to try and piece together in my mind that the man standing before me was not in fact Levi. Every one of his features mirrored Levi's exactly, from the way that they were built, even down to the shape of their eyebrows. He was Levi's foot-taller carbon copy, I realized while he stalked towards me, his long legs moving slowly and gracefully as he approached. He smirked at me and held out his hand. "Told ya, Idiot," Rivaille snapped, looking over my shoulder at Levi.